Thursday, March 31, 2011

THE CRUCIFICTION DEATH OF JESUS

At the age of 33, Jesus was condemned to the death penalty. At the time crucifixion was the "worst" death. Only the worst criminals condemned to be crucified. Yet it was even more dreadful for Jesus, unlike other criminals condemned to death by crucifixion Jesus was to be nailed to the cross by His hands and feet.

Each nail was 6 to 8 inches long. The nails were driven into His wrist. Not into His palms as is commonly portrayed. There's a tendon in the wrist that extends to the shoulder.. The Roman guards knew that when the nails were being hammered into the wrist that tendon would tear and brake, forcing Jesus to use His back muscles to support himself so that He could breath.

Both of His feet were nailed together. Thus He was forced to support Himself on the single nail that impaled His feet to the cross. Jesus could not support himself with His legs because of the pain so He was forced to alternate between arching His back then using his legs just to continue to breath. Imagine the struggle, the pain, the suffering, the courage.

Jesus endured this reality for over 3 hours. Yes, over 3 hours! Can you imagine this kind of suffering? A few minutes before He died, Jesus stopped bleeding. He was simply pouring water
 from his wounds.

From common images we see wounds to His hands and feet and even the spear wound to His side. But do we realize His wounds were actually made in his body. A hammer driving large nails through the wrist, the feet overlapped and an even large nail hammered through the arches, then a Roman guard piercing His side with a spear. But before the nails and the spear Jesus was whipped and beaten. The whipping was so severe that it tore the flesh from His body. The beating so horrific that His face was torn and his beard ripped from His face. The crown of thorns cut deeply into His scalp. Most men would not have survived this torture.

He had no more blood to bleed out, only water poured from His wounds. The human adult body contains about 3.5 liters (just less than a gallon) of blood. Jesus poured all 3.5 liters of his blood; He had three nails hammered into His members; a crown of thorns on His head and, beyond that, a Roman soldier who stabbed a spear into His chest.

All these without mentioning the humiliation He passed after carrying His own cross for almost 2 kilometers, while the crowd spat in his face and threw stones (the cross was almost 30 kg of weight, only for its higher part, where His hands were nailed).

Jesus had to endure this experience, so that you can have free access to God. So that your sins could be "washed" away. All of them, with no exception!
Don't ignore this situation.

JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR YOU!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Easter 5 - Jesus is coming again!


Of course we know He is coming again!

Acts 1:9-11 And when He had said this, even as they were looking at Him, He was caught up, and a cloud received and carried Him away out of their sight. And while they were gazing intently into heaven as He went, behold, two men dressed in white robes suddenly stood beside them, who said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing into heaven? This same Jesus, Who was caught away and lifted up from among you into heaven, will return in just the same way in which you saw Him go into heaven.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Easter 3 - Why is the date of Easter so confusing?

Why is the date of Easter different every year and how do they determine it?

Have you ever wondered why Easter Sunday can fall anywhere between March 22 and April 25? This is a good question with answers that require a bit of explanation.

Since the days of early church history, determining the precise date of Easter has been a matter for continued argument. For one, the followers of Christ neglected to record the exact date of Jesus' resurrection. From then on the matter grew increasingly complex.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Easter 2 - The History

What is the history behind Easter weekend according to the Bible?

The history of the crucifiction and ressurection of Jesus Christ can be found in the 4 Evangelical books of the Bible, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. Here is a short synopsis:

Easter is celebrating the event that Jesus Christ was resurrected, after having suffered and died on the cross for our sins. It reminds you that Christ, who was crucified on what is now called the Good Friday, showed himself up on the Easter. So, it is a time to celebrate. To celebrate that Jesus, who appeared on Earth for the salvation of mankind, is always with us.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

God, I am on your side.

God, I am on your side.

My quest for the truth continues.

There is one characteristic we all humans have - and that is partisanship. It is illogical, it is not founded on facts, it is in our hearts.

Do not ask me why I like BMW's and can't stand Mecedes Benzes - Why I shout for the Spanish football team and not for the French - and why I take the side of my kids against the whole world. I do not know !! But still I do.

Why do the tears roll down my face when I am touched by Love or by the finger or Spirit of God? I do not know - and it is not my intellect which responds, but something inside me over which I have no control. Trying to suppress the feeling as much as I can, I cannot do it completely.

I know on which side I am, but how I got to that I do not know, but I know with all my heart that I am on that side.

But is this side I am on, the side I take with my heart, or the one I am selling?

To quote from The Big Kahuna :

It doesn't matter whether you're selling Jesus or Buddha or civil rights or 'How to Make Money in Real Estate With No Money Down.' That doesn't make you a human being; it makes you a marketing rep. If you want to talk to somebody honestly, as a human being, ask him about his kids. Find out what his dreams are - just to find out, for no other reason. Because as soon as you lay your hands on a conversation to steer it, it's not a conversation anymore; it's a pitch. And you're not a human being; you're a marketing rep.

I'm saying you've already done plenty of things to regret, you just don't know what they are. It's when you discover them, when you see the folly in something you've done, and you wish that you had it do over, but you know you can't, because it's too late. So you pick that thing up, and carry it with you to remind you that life goes on, the world will spin without you, you really don't matter in the end. Then you will gain character, because honesty will reach out from inside and tattoo itself across your face.

Do one thing everyday that scares you. Sing. Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts; Don’t put up with other people who are reckless with yours. Floss. Don’t waste your time on jealously, sometimes you ahead, sometimes your behind. The race is long, an in the end its only with yourself. Remember compliments you receive; forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this tell me how. Keep your old love letters-Throw away your old bank statements.


The question I wish to ask is : Am I on the side of God with my whole heart?





Monday, March 21, 2011

I go to prepare a place for you - part 2

After I prepared the first part of this blog, something gnawed at me, as I knew I did not address heaven properly - not that I ever would, as the Truth is only in Jesus Christ.

What I do is groping with my fingers in the darkness to feel what this image of heaven is which has been partly disclosed to us in scripture. In this i am reminded of the words of a song of ABBA :

I have a dream, a fantasy
To help me through reality
And my destination makes it worth the while
Pushing through the darkness still another mile

Sunday, March 13, 2011

A Dialogue between Pope Leo X and Thomas Paine

A dialogue between Pope Leo X (1475 - 1521 A.D.) and Thomas Paine (1737 - 1809 A.D.) - from Transcripts of their debate.

Written by P.K.Odendaal - March 2011


Foreword for all my Dialogues


Note by the Scribe (writer) : This piece was compiled with the latest facts and interpretations of History and the Bible. It is, after all, an unfinished work as the dialogue will only be conducted after the rapture when everyone will know everything, but it is also conceivable that it has already taken place, because there is no clear scripture that says one first has to go to a place of detention before inheriting your prize - be that eternal life or eternal damnation.